The man who pleaded guilty in June to killing special education teacher Robin Aldridge and her daughter, Mani, will serve a life sentence plus 40 years in prison. On December 5, 2014, Gene Washington allegedly beat the 58- and 17-year-olds to death before swaddling them in blankets and setting

The Georgia man charged with kicking a counterprotester who was on the ground in the Market Street Parking Garage August 12 was denied bond this morning in Charlottesville General District Court. Alex Michael Ramos, 33, appeared before Judge Bob Downer seeking bond for his release from

In a minuscule, stagnant holding room just feet away from a barely bigger solitary confinement cell where he’s been housed since he turned himself in to police August 23, “Crying Nazi” Christopher Cantwell, a self-proclaimed racist and alt-right radio shock jock, says he wishes he never came to

Another crop of alt-righters and counterprotesters arrested for acts related to the infamous Unite the Right rally were heard in Charlottesville General District Court today. Chattanooga, Tennessee, resident Troy Dunigan says he drove seven hours to plead guilty to a disorderly conduct charge

By Ken Wilson – Fall colors and fall flavors go together. Fall is when we go leaf-peeping and pumpkin picking, when we make apple sauce and pumpkin butter, when we enjoy stunning colors by day and mouth-watering pies at night. Fall is also festival time at area orchards, of which we have

By Ken Wilson – As an underage college kid, Ian Glomski made “crappy” beer in his mother’s house. As an adult he makes whiskey in an alternative school—a former school, that is. Let’s not get the wrong impression. What Glomski is up to in the former Henry Avenue Learning Center in

Much in the way that giving directions to a newcomer will never not be thrilling (or is that just us?), recommending an essential dining experience is also a rite of passage: It ups your townie cred and, if you’ve steered the novice correctly, shows off our local culinary aptitude. The food

While Jon Bray says he can’t pinpoint which particular dish got him into the food industry, he can specify a time (he was 14), a reason (“my parents repealed the Weekly Allowance Act”) and a place (Bellair Market). It was the beginning of a nearly 20-year career in Charlottesville kitchens,

Beats and brotherhood Made up of brothers Tahir, Stephen and Courtney Panton Jr., along with their father, Courtney Panton Sr., New Kingston infuses urban style into its Jamaican heritage, bringing fresh innovation to its soulful, rhythmic reggae. Starting musical careers at an early age in New

Rebranding hate If the #cvillestandsforlove looks familiar, like the “Virginia Is For Lovers” logo, for instance, that’s because Susan Payne, wearing her chair-of-the-Virginia-Tourism-Corporation-board hat, created the hashtag using the state’s 50-year-old iconic logo. “It’s the same family,”

Bottoms up, y’all. It’s Virginia Spirits Month here in the commonwealth, sponsored by the Virginia Distillers Association and meant to spotlight Virginia-made spirits. Many local bartenders do so all year ’round, but there are a few special cocktails this month that are worth sidling up to the

Could there possibly be anything more boring than a supposed spy thriller where the main character wins all the time and is immediately right with every hunch? That’s the experience of watching American Assassin’s Mitch Rapp (Dylan O’Brien), a character who is devoid of real personality so he

By John Last On August 12, the streets around Emancipation Park were a riot of color: socialist red, antifa black, the white robes of clergy, bright rainbow flags. But in this broad coalition of anti-racist activists, at least one group was missing: Virginia’s Native American tribes. In

Three become one in the Swedish folk band Väsen, an acoustic trio now in its 27th year of touring. The veteran group, made up of Roger Tallroth on 12-string guitar, violist Mikael Marin and Olov Johansson, a prominent nyckelharpa (a “keyed fiddle”) player, is deeply rooted in the aged

If you’re not going to a lot of parties—Friendsgiving, holiday soirées, New Year’s Eve gatherings—this season, you’re doing it wrong. And if you are, but you aren’t bringing a treat to share? Well, that’s where we come in. Knife & Fork reached out to the folks at Found. Market, a

On a picturesque, 92-acre hillside ranch in southern Ivy, native Virginian Alex Toomy and two partners have launched an enterprise centered on a perfect pairing: bourbon and beef. Craft distillery Ragged Branch, now open for business after five years of preparation and two more of

You know the saying—“secrets secrets are no fun, unless they’re shared with everyone”—and though it’s likely been a while since you singsong sassed that to a friend on the playground, we’ll remind you that secrets are no fun unless they’re shared with everyone, and we have one to share: There’s

A Memphis-based car dealership chain bought Charlottesville’s Brown Automotive Group, an institution in the community for nearly 40 years, on September 19. Umansky Automotive Group, a family-operated company, has 850 employees across 16 dealerships, says owner Dan Umansky. The five local Brown

Eli Cook picked up the guitar one fortuitous summer when his older brother went to baseball camp. Cook’s brother had been taking lessons and left an electric guitar—which actually belonged to their older sister—behind in Nelson County. “It seemed cool,” says Cook of the idea of playing guitar.

It all began with a little generosity from Mother Nature. “We had a Pinot Gris block come in heavier than expected,” says Joy Ting, enologist and project manager at Michael Shaps Wineworks. “Since the excess had not been slated for a specific wine, and it was early in harvest, we realized we